We don’t give God enough credit for answering our prayers. In fact, oftentimes we falsely accuse Him of refusing to answer prayers that He has ALREADY answered.

There are times when the answers to our prayers do not manifest in the manner we envisioned. However, we must remain open-minded. Many of us are experiencing answered prayers right now, and we just don’t know it.

As a child, I dreamed of becoming a soap opera actress, a doctor, a writer and the founder of the HIV cure. It was until a discussion with my mother that I realized that God had already answered one of those desires in an unconventional way.

As a graduate student, God created an opportunity for me to work with one of the individuals who discovered HIV when it first emerged in the 1980s. Wow! What an amazing experience. Under my mentor, I was first introduced to the facts about HIV. I was also able to educate members of at-risk communities about the disease. This summer my non-profit organization, The Truth Outreach Project (TOP) Org. will work with four, local community centers and upwards of 150 adolescents to host its first ever HIV fashion/talent show for the community. In my own unique way, I have contributed to the cure. According to Benjamin Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.” In that sense, God provided me with and opportunity to deliver HIV prevention/educational messages to individuals that could impact their decision-making process and change their lives.

Isaiah 55:8 says, “’My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine,’” (NIV). While I was thinking cure, God was thinking prevention. Sure a cure would be great. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 70 million people worldwide have been infected with HIV and 35 million have died of AIDS. But as great as a cure would be, and it would be great, prevention would be even better.

I guess the moral of the story is, “Don’t underestimate just how much God is working to answer your prayers.” Sometimes the answers we are looking for is right under our nose. It’s just wrapped in a different package.